Main line rail industry news – Page 453
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NewsOradea takes delivery of ex-Berlin trams
ROMANIA: Oradea has taken delivery of 10 Tatra KT4D trams from Berlin transport operator BVG. The city decided to buy second-hand trams last year after a modernisation project for its old vehicles was put on hold owing to lack of financing. The cost of the ex-Berlin trams is €250 ...
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NewsBLS signs its largest rolling stock contract
SWITZERLAND: A firm order for the supply of 52 six-car Flirt electric multiple-units was signed by BLS Chief Executive Bernard Guillelmon and Stadler President Peter Spuhler on January 15. Stadler had been named preferred bidder for the operator’s largest-ever rolling stock contract in May 2017, beating a rival offer from ...
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NewsOpava battery trolleybus contract signed
CZECH REPUBLIC: Škoda Electric and SOR are to supply 10 32Tr battery trolleybuses to Opava. The contract signed on January 9 is worth KC135·5m excluding VAT. Deliveries are due in September. The vehicles will be based on SOR’s NS 12 model. The vehicles will be equipped with 42·1 kWh ...
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NewsBrightline launches higher-speed inter-city service
USA: The first privately-operated scheduled passenger trains since the early 1980s began running on January 13, when Brightline launched an introductory service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale in southern Florida. Brightline operates over the tracks of the Florida East Coast Railway, which have been rebuilt and upgraded for ...
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NewsWorld rail freight news round-up
Hupac has launched a thrice-weekly direct container service between Hannover and Novara. This is an 'evolution' of its Hamburg/Hannover – Busto shuttle, which continues to run as a Hamburg – Busto service. Hupac said the expansion of its 4 m cleared network was in response to the growing market requirements ...
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NewsMetronom retains Hanze-Netz operating contract
GERMANY: Following a European tender which attracted several bids, the Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover transport authorities have jointly awarded incumbent Metronom the next contract to operate Hanse-Netz and Uelzen-Göttingen passenger services. The contract runs from December 2018 until December 2033 and covers five services: RE2 Göttingen – Hannover – ...
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NewsSalamanca – Fuentes de Oñoro electrification contract awarded
SPAIN: The board of infrastructure manager ADIF has approved the award of a €31∙7m contract for electrification at 25 kV 50 Hz of the 1 668 mm gauge route between Salamanca and Fuentes de Oñoro on the Portuguese border. Installation of 2 x 25 kV overhead line equipment for operation ...
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NewsUlm – Wendlingen track contract awarded
GERMANY: Deutsche Bahn has awarded Rhomberg Bahntechnik and Swietelsky Baugesellschaft a €250m contract to design, install and commission 60 route-km of track and railway systems on the 250 km/h line which is being built between Wendlingen and Ulm as part of the project to reduce Stuttgart – Ulm journey times ...
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NewsNS seeks return to contract operating market
NETHERLANDS: National passenger operator NS is ready to restart submitting bids for Dutch regional passenger operating contracts, Chief Executive Roger van Boxtel said in an interview with the Volkskrant newspaper last month. NS had announced in 2016 that it would focus on the core long-distance rail network and would no ...
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NewsRailway supply industry news round-up
United Wagon Co’s Tikhvin and TikhvinChemMash subsidiaries have been certified as compliant with the ISO/TS 22163:2017 quality management standard. UWC said Russian Railways had made compliance with ISO/TS 22163:2017 obligatory for its suppliers and sub-suppliers as part of its strategic quality management policy. VTG has opened a wagon leasing office ...
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NewsAlstom to supply more Citadis trams to Bordeaux
FRANCE: Bordeaux Metropole has ordered a further 10 Citadis trams from Alstom, the manufacturer announced on January 11. The contract worth €30m is an option on a framework contract signed in 2011. The 26 trams from the firm order entered service in 2013-14, and a further 15 are currently ...
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NewsRegions recommend flexible approach to TER tendering
FRANCE: Recommendations on the approach that the government should adopt in legislation to allow regional passenger services to be put out to tender were published by the organisation representing regional authorities on January 9. Régions de France had conducted a series of hearings between March and July 2017, taking evidence ...
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NewsQbuzz selected for Dutch rail and bus operating contract
NETHERLANDS: The province of Zuid-Holland announced on January 10 that it had selected the Qbuzz subsidiary of FS Group’s Busitalia business as preferred bidder for a contract which combines the operation of MerwedeLingelijn services on the Geldermalsen – Dordrecht route with the provision of local bus services. EBS and incumbent ...
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NewsSNCF plans TGV efficiency drive to compete with air and bus
FRANCE: National rail operator SNCF is planning to restructure its high speed operations over the next three years to improve fleet utilisation and facilitate the withdrawal of its oldest TGV trainsets. According to the head of Voyages SNCF Rachel Picard, the changes are expected to reduce operating costs by between ...
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NewsUK railway news round-up
Network Rail has announced that the lines from Three Bridges to Brighton and Lewes will be closed during the school half term periods from October 20-28 2018 and February 16-24 2019 to permit a ‘once in a generation’ upgrade to the southern end of the Brighton Main Line. This will ...
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NewsNewag selected to supply 20 electric locos to PKP IC
POLAND: PKP Intercity has selected Newag as preferred bidder to supply and maintain 20 electric locomotives, with options for up to 10 more. Deliveries are due to be completed within 30 months of contract signature. The tender specifies that the 160 km/h locos must have at least 95% availability. ...
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NewsPassenger LNG trial starts
SPAIN: Development Minister Íñigo de la Serna joined Energy Minister Álvaro Nadal on January 8 to mark the start of what is claimed to be the first trial of liquefied natural gas as a fuel for passenger rail traction, being undertaken by national operator RENFE in conjunction with Bureau Veritas ...
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NewsCRRC to supply 200 Roca EMU cars
ARGENTINA: Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich has given his approval for an order to be placed directly with CRRC Qingdao Sifang of China for the supply of 200 EMU cars for the Roca commuter network in Buenos Aires, with an estimated cost of US$316∙5m. Joining a fleet of 42 EMUs previously ...
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NewsStadler to supply FGC EMUs
SPAIN: Catalunya regional operator FGC has awarded Stadler Rail a €99∙5m contract to supply 15 four-car Class 115 EMUs. The four-car trainsets are to be deployed from 2019 on FGC’s 1 435 mm gauge Vallès network serving Sabadell and Terrassa north of Barcelona. Following the completion of an extension to ...
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NewsJerusalem A1 fast line opening date announced
ISRAEL: The newly built A1 fast line to Jerusalem will open on March 30, Transport Minister Israel Katz has announced. Only one of the two tracks electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz will be operational at first, limiting services to two trains per hour in each direction. The previously announced ...